Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York Police Department say that 90 percent of all guns used in crimes in the city in 2011 came from another state. Bloomberg vowed to continue to fight the influx of out-of-state guns despite protests from lawmakers. "To those who say, 'Stay out of our state,' our answer is: We'd love to," said Bloomberg, "Just as soon as you stop letting guns seep into the black market, land in the hands of criminals and be used to murder our citizens." Bloomberg issued a list of the top out-of-state sources for guns. Virginia tops the list, followed by North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

GOTHAMVOTES: 2013 CITY COUNCIL RACES TO WATCH

The debate over what to do to prepare for the next big storm is shaping a fierce City Council race in southern Brooklyn. Six contenders are vying to replace term-limited Councilman Michael Nelson in the 48th district. By Latima Stephens. CONTINUE READING

Gotham Votes 2013: We've got your elections news! From now until November, we'll be curating the races, from the Bronx to Staten Island. And, as we get closer to the primary on Sept. 20, look out for expanded information on the candidates and the issues.

Sen. Diane Savino may be getting tired of advocates pressuring her and other members of the Independent Democratic Conference to move progressive peices of legislation through the Senate.

Savino told advocate Bryan John Ellicott in an exchange on Facebook, that it wasn't her fault that the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act has not come to a vote, instead casting blame for the delay on fellow Democrat state Sen. Daniel Squadron for being too busy running for Public Advocate to tend to his legislation.

Savino told the Facebook poster : "You already ave my vote, but maybe you should speak to the sponsor of the bill, Dan Squadron. I know he is busy running for another office, but it is his bill and he needs to move it. Legislating does not mean introducing a bill and then doing nothing. I have a full agenda of my bills and I don't leave them to anyone else"

Savino and her IDC colleagues have faced pressure to move progressive legislation since forming a governing coalition with Senate Republicans last year.

"We all have to make sure we have the votes. It is part of our job," Savino said.

"Sometimes you get testy when people tell you it is your job to move a bill. It is really busy right now and I have lots of my own legislation to move. Sometimes people react in ways that don't really relfect how they feel," Savino told the Gazette.

Savino told the advocate that Squadron must prove there are enough votes for passage of a bill before it comes up for a vote. "you need to have the votes declared to move it," she said.

There is nothing in the Senate rules that says a bill must be gauraneed passage for it to come to a vote.

Squadron has held a number of events and rallies in support of GENDA and The New York Times editorialized in favor of the legislation today while mentioning Squadron's efforts to pass the bill. Squadron's office declined to comment on Savino's statements.

Savino has been the target of much lobbying on a number of different pieces of legislation because she and her boyfirend Sen. Jeff Klein. are key members of the Independent Democratic Conference and Klein shares the ability to decide which bills come to a vote with Republican Leader Dean Skelos.

Savino says she supports GENDA but that she isn't sure the votes exist to pass the bill this year.

Interestingly enough, Savino is the Senate sponsor of the Sensible Opportunity for Legislative Equality Act that would allow each legislator to bring one bill to a vote in a two-year session regardless of what leaders have to say as long as the bill has made it through committee.

SOLE may seem surprisingly straightforward, or even underwhelming, to those unfamiliar with Albany. But the act isn't any sort of guarantee rank-and-file legislators will get even one of their bills to a vote in two years as legisaltion can be held up in committee.

"It is a very distinct possibility that SOLE could help move legislation like GENDA, in instances like this," Savino said.

Savino says she doesn't think SOLE has a chance of passing the legislature this year but says it will percolate. "Legislating is hard sometimes," said Savino.

Here is the Facebook exchange:

Bryan John Ellicott:

even if you don't live in the district call Diane J. Savino and Jeffrey Klein and make them know how you feel about GENDA...think of all the young people who haven't come out yet because they are scared. Yes, NYC has GENDA like provisions but they aren't enforced.

Diane J. Savino:

You already ave my vote, but maybe you should speak to the sponsor of the bill, Dan Squadron. I know he is busy running for another office, but it is his bill and he needs to move it. Legislating does not mean introducing a bill and then doing nothing. I have a full agenda of my bills and I don't leave them to anyone else.

Bryan John Ellicott:

Diane, you have the ability to move this bill out committee all by yourself and with the other members of the IDC. Daniel Squadron and I we talk often. He can't do that with Skelos or the IDC. You are no longer just the Senator from the Staten Island you gave that up when you broke off from the Dems. You have the chance to make the lives of transgender people and especially transgender youth better. What are you going to say to them when they don't get a vote for pride?Are you prepared for that? Don't say but we have GENDA provisions in NYC because they don't get enforced.

Diane J. Savino:

bryan, i wish thst were true, but it is not. if i had that kind of power i would have passed medical marijuana already. you need to have the votes declared to move it.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced he is moving to expel Assemblyman Vito Lopez last night. Silver, facing a firestorm of criticism for his office's handling of the Lopez sexual harassment scandal is looking to take decisive action as soon as Monday. Silver refused to expel Lopez last year as the scandal broke but stripped Lopez of his seniority and committee assignments. Now, with more criticism focused on his office following the release of the Joint Commission on Public Ethic's damning report, Silver says he plans to introduce a resolution that according to his spokesman Michael Whyland will be, "voted on Monday to ask the Ethics & Guidance Committee to consider the full JCOPE report and to recommend appropriate sanctions including expulsion of Assemblymember Lopez." Earlier Thursday Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters the Assembly shouldconsider expelling Lopez. “The reaction from the legislature should be zero tolerance,” Cuomo said. “If he doesn't resign, he should be expelled.”

]]>dking@gothamgazette.com (David Howard King)The Eye-OpenerFri, 17 May 2013 11:35:27 +0000Assembly Passes Gender Expression Protection Acthttp://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/the-eye-opener/entry/state/2013/04/30/assembly-passes-gender-expression-protection-act-
http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/the-eye-opener/entry/state/2013/04/30/assembly-passes-gender-expression-protection-act-The State Assembly has again passed legislation that would protect transgender New Yorkers under the state's human rights law by a vote of 85-46.

The Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act expands the definition of hate crimes in the state to explicitly include transgender people. The Assembly has passed the bill annually since 2003 but the Senate has failed to do so.

The bill's sponsor, Assemblyman Richard Gottfrfied of Manhattan, read a statement from Albany Police Cheif Steven Krokoff to the chamber on how Albany's GENDA legislation has not caused any major problems in the city.

Krokoff addressed a group of GENDA lobbyists earlier in the day saying, "I'm proud to be here today! Thank you for allowing me to come here and champion this cause." Gender expression non-discrimination has been law in Albany since 2004.

The Bill's Senate sponor Sen. Daniel Squadron who represents Brooklyn and lower Manhattan pushed today for the bill to come to a vote. He issued this statement:

Today the Assembly passed GENDA for the sixth time. Yet Senate Republicans continue to block a vote on this critical bill. Make no mistake: it's simply unacceptable that New Yorkers can lose their job or be evicted from their home because of their gender identity or expression. Countless other states, and localities around our own state, have acted. But New York remains behind the curve. It's time for the Senate to finally pass GENDA, and for New York to stand up for what's right and ensure that all people -- no matter how they identify -- are treated with the fairness and dignity they deserve. "Thank you to Assemblyman Gottfried, the tireless activists in Albany today for Equality & Justice Day, and all those fighting for equality for all New Yorkers.

Sen. Daniel Squadron seems to be the first elected calling directly for Sen. Malcolm Smith's resignation following his arrest by the FBI for his alleged involvement in a scheme to buy the Republican line in the New York City mayor's race.

"The charges outlined in today's complaint are simply shocking. This is something that belongs in 'House of Cards,' not an election to decide who will run our city or any part of our government," said Squadron in a statement.

For the uninitiated 'House of Cards' is a totally-awesome take down of corruption in politics and journalism presented in episodic format by Netflix. I highly recommend it.

"Regardless of the outcome of the criminal charges filed against Senator Smith, he has lost the public trust -- and he should resign," Squadron continues. "Scandal after scandal underscores the need for fundamental reform of the system, including laws to create a better campaign finance system and more open and competitive elections, and to disentangle public service from for-profit business."

State Sen. Daniel Squadron was ahead of his time as far as dealing with gun violence in New York goes.

The senator who represents parts of Brooklyn and lower Manhattan wrote an op-ed in the Daily News and held a rally where he called for legislators to return to Albany to pass bills that are aimed at reducing gun violence. One of those bills would crack down on assault weapons. At the time, legislators were considering coming back to Albany for a special session to give themselves a pay raise.

Now, following the massacre in Newton, Conn., legislators may return to Albany for a special session to pass tougher gun laws â€“ including a measure that would patch holes in the state's assault weapons ban.

Squadron issued this letter to his supporters today:

Dear Friend,

Some important news: a special legislative session I called for in October to immediately pass vital gun measures into law now may be happening.

A package of common sense measures -- including my bill to crack down on assault weapons, as well as critical background checks and limits on guns sales, and the vital crime-solving tool of microstamping -- would create the basic protections we need to truly save lives. In fact, my assault weapons bill would ban the military-style weapon used in last week's Newtown tragedy.

Thank you to Governor Cuomo and all of my colleagues working to immediately push critical gun protection measures forward. I'll be standing with Assemblymembers Kavanagh and Schimel and others today at 2PM at City Hall to continue the call.

You can read my Daily News op-ed calling for a special legislative session on gun protections here and below, and let me know if you'd like to get involved with the push.

While other legislators are crossing their fingers that they will return to Albany sometime this year to vote themselves a pay raise, Democratic state Sen. Daniel Squadron wants them back in their seats for an entirely different reason.

This morning Squadron and a number of Senate and Assembly Democrats as well as advocates and community members gathered at site of the recent shooting at Campos Plaza to call for a special session to address gun violence by passing a package of bills.

"Before one more innocent life is lost, it's time for the legislature to pass these critical bills,â€ť Squadron said. â€śFrom the crime-solving tool of microstamping to my bill to crack down on assault weapons, these common sense measures would be a big step toward protecting New York's families. Yet again and again the gun lobby keeps these guns on our streets and our communities at risk â€” and we too often see the consequences right here at home."

Jackie Hilly, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence praised the idea in a statement:

We cannot continue to allow our children to die in playgrounds and mothers to die on the street. For too long important legislation has been forced to the back burner. Now is the time to pass common sense measures to help protect families and communities in New York.

Squadron proposed the idea of a special session to address gun violence in an op-ed in the Daily News earlier this week. In that op-ed, Squadron noted that 1,329 people were killed or injured by guns in New York City alone this year.

Despite these events, it seems unlikely the Legislature will take major action during any possible special session, since the New York Rifle Association is a major donor in New York state and Senate Republicans have blocked legislation like microstamping in the past.

Following the Deutsche Bank fire in August of 2007, Sen. Daniel Squadron and Assemblyman Richard Gottfried championed legislation that created the New York State Taskforce on Building and Fire Safety.

This summer, the taskforce issued a report that found discrepencies that allow state-owned buildings in New York City to be exempt from certain fire regulations.

Now both legislators are pushing the City Council to act to plug those gaps. Squadron and Gottfried will be holding a press conference at noon outside of the former Deutsche Bank building on Greenwhich and Liberty streets. Following the conference both legislators will testify at the City Council hearing.